Does time ever fly! Another month is gone and there are more exciting things on the horizon. We always say the summer is our busiest season, but there’s no sign of us slowing down anytime soon. After a great time at the Norfolk County Beerstock in Port Dover, we’re looking forward to seeing you at these upcoming events as well.

For those of you who missed this tid-bit of information with our anniversary post, our Flanders Red release date is set for Thursday, October 5th at 1:00 pm. Make sure to come by the brewery as early as you can to get your hands on one or two of these 750mL bottles. Only 500 bottles will be available and when they are gone that’s it. If you want to try a sip before you buy, we are tapping the cask at 1:00 pm!

I am super excited to share that one of my favourite beers is making a comeback! New Limburg’s own Pumpkin beer. For those of you who don’t remember the Knight Beer Before Christmas from last year, this Pumpkin Ale embodies everything that’s good about the season. With spices that will make you think of pumpkin pie, it warms you up in all the right ways at 6.3% abv. It may look a little bit different than you remember it, but does it ever taste great! This year we have fewer than 350 bottles of this special brew, so make sure to get your hands on it while you can! If you can’t make it out to the brewery though, we’ll be serving it at the Taste of Norfolk during the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show as well as at the Waterford Pumpkinfest!

October 3-9, 2017

The Norfolk County Fair & Horse Show is the first event that we have to look forward to this month. Who doesn’t love this yearly treat to get us excited for the fall! I sure have some fond memories going as a student! Now I get to join in making it a fun time for you guys by being at the Taste of Norfolk from Friday, October 6 – Monday, October 9. Make sure to stop by to enjoy a variety of what Norfolk County has to offer!

October 6-9, 2017

October 13-15, 2017

We also can’t forget about Pumpkinfest of course! I just love all these county events. This year we’ve been approached to be present with our beer. And what better place to serve our Pumpkin beer? Make sure to mark your calendar and join us for some Pumpkin-y goodness!

October 21, 2017

If you’re looking for another event to get you in the Halloween mood, our beer will be served at the Radical Lines Halloween Fest! This 1st annual Halloween Fest & Food Drive supports the Port Dover food bank. It looks like it will be a fun-filled evening with performances and treats for everyone! For more information check out their website.

That’s all for now folks! Make sure to stay tuned to our social media for updates as stuff happens. Enjoy a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and I hope to see you all soon!

Last week, on Monday, September 18, we celebrated our two-year anniversary. One thing I’ve learned from my mother (though she usually does this around the new year) with everything that happens in a year it’s nice to stop and take a look back at everything. Take some time to have a read because there’s been a LOT!

First and foremost, however, we want to thank you, our supporters. Without all of you, whether you are regulars, have been by the brewery once, or even support us from a distance, we could not have made it here without you. It’s amazing to see the support and sense of community you guys bring. We frequently get comments about how homey and comfortable the atmosphere is here; that’s because you’ve made it this way. So, from the entire New Limburg team, thank you!

In 2015, we opened our doors. Our first year was marked by a whirlwind of new things. Though that year gave us many firsts, there are plenty of things to look back on during our second year as well.

This year we’ve released seven new beers, both limited editions and additions to our standard lineups. There was the addition of the Quad to the Saint Series, the Lessons were introduced in the Tap Room, the Belgian IPA made its debut, and most recently the Single was released which completed the Saint Series lineup. There were also a number of limited edition beers since you guys seem to love them so much! There was the Autumn Red, Lost Rye Saison, Knight Beer Before Christmas (which will make its return soon!), Ralphy’s Bitter in support of Ralphy’s Retreat, and the Hibiscus Wit for the Canada 150 celebrations.

Arguably one of our biggest milestones was getting our Belgian Blond into the LCBO on a permanent listing. This was great news for us and even better news for you guys! Now you could pick up our beer closer to home! Later in the year, even our Wit was accepted as a seasonal beer! Let’s hope that there will be more to come! (Keep an eye out for a winter seasonal!).

Not only have we released beers, we’ve also won a few awards! #HumbleBrag. We are super proud of our brew team for doing such a great job making the beer we all love. First, there was the Great Ontario Hopped Craft Beer Competition for which we got to make a Belgian IPA. Partnering with local hop producers HayHoe Hops and King Lake Farms this beer won first place in the competition! You guys loved it so much that we decided to add it to our regular line-up! Let’s see if we can’t defend our title this upcoming year as we brew a black IPA! Speaking of defending our title, we once again entered the Ontario Brewing Awards and were honoured and proud to walk away with two awards! Gold for our Dubbel and Bronze for our Wit. We also sent off some beer to the Canadian Brewing Awards and were amazed to walk away with gold for our Tripel!

Our first year saw the brewery’s first hire outside the family, expanding the brew team to include Andrew. This year we needed to expand our team further. First came Dave for Sales and Logistics. He’s the guy that’s making sure you can find our beer in LCBOs, stores, restaurants and pubs! Make sure to pass on his name if you think our beer should be served somewhere that doesn’t have it yet! With so many locations to go to Dave couldn’t possibly do it all by himself, so we hired Mark to join the team to help out with deliveries. It wasn’t hard to win him over, as he came by for a beer once or twice and liked it so much he wanted to help out! Talk about a great compliment! With all this beer going out the door the brew team could barely keep up. You may have noticed when our product has been out of stock. So, the decision was made to hire on Holly to join the production! Currently attending Niagara College for brewing, she’s the perfect addition to our brew team! Lastly, with so much going on around the brewery with trying to meet demand, renovations to fix up the front and prepare the old gym for new equipment, there was less and less time to keep you guys informed. So, Estelle (yours truly) was hired for Marketing and Community Relations. Because it’s not just about the beer, it’s about the community. It’s about you guys. With that, I want to say thanks, for giving me a job to do and for all the amazing feedback I’ve been getting!

Looking back, it’s been a busy year! It’s been filled with new beers, new team members, new awards, and many more new things still on the way! Seamless segue to our next new beer; the Flanders Red.This traditional Belgian beer style comes from West Flanders and is characterised by its red colour and is famous for a balanced sweet and sour flavour. It is often described as the most wine-like of all beers. Traditionally these beers are fermented in very large oak vessels with a mix of yeasts and bacteria, which over time produce the authentic sourness and fruity flavours. Our version of this beer was fermented in smaller barrels, previously used for wine. As a result, the beer has picked up more oak flavour than other examples in the style, this provides a nice dry finish with notes of cacao. It is mildly sour with hints of fruit in both flavour and aroma. It also has a slight funk coming from the wild yeasts. Like all of our beers, this one is bottle conditioned. Though at this point it’s hard for us to say how it will age, we have a feeling that a little more time will not lessen the character of this beer and may even be beneficial. Considering the time and effort that have gone into making this special ale, the release will reflect that. It’s been bottled in 750mL bottles and sealed with corks and cages. At 6.5% abv. This beer isn’t too heavy but is one made to share. Which is good because we were limited in our production of this beer by the number of oak barrels we had available and will only have 500 of these bottles when it’s released. The release date will be… drum roll, please… Thursday, October 5th, at 1:00 PM! This will allow us to also tap the cask we set aside for some tasting in the Tap Room. And just in time for Thanksgiving! If you don’t happen to get your hands on this first batch, I’ve heard rumour around the brewery that we’re looking to get more barrels so that we can do more of these oak aged beauties in the future! And as some of you may know, some of these beers are already underway.

That’s it for this update. If you’ve made it to the end, thank you for taking the time to read my rambling, and let me know what your favourite New Limburg Brewery memory was from this past year! And again, thank you for the support, and cheers to another year of beer!

September is here! As schools start up again, this school brewery moves into year three of its operations. This summer has been full of exciting things, but we’re not planning on slowing down anytime soon!

Renovations Update

If you’ve been following us on social media at all, you’ve probably come across pictures of the renovations being made to our gym and front entrance. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on. We’ve been working overtime in the school’s old gym to make room for brewery equipment! That’s right, that means more of that stuff you love coming your way! We’ve emptied it, cleaned it, and opened up the floors; now we just have to wait for concrete to be poured before we can make the new room operational. The plan is to begin with a brand-new bottle filling line. This first step will cut down on the packaging time for the brew team allowing them to brew more beer! Sounds good, doesn’t it? In the future, the gym will house a much larger brew system to keep all of those delicious beers on the shelf.

As you may have seen if you stopped by over the Labour Day long weekend, we’ve also dug up the front entrance. That patchwork of paving materials out there had to go! Now that it’s all cleared out, we’re ready for the new concrete to come in. Once the concrete is poured, we’ll have to close again for a bit while to allow it to cure. We’ll keep you posted on social media.

Our Anniversary

Can you believe it’s two years already?! This month we’ll be celebrating our second anniversary. Two years of brewing beer with amazing support from all of you! Unbelievable! The positive feedback we’ve been getting is both touching and motivating. We’re looking forward to another year of bringing you the beers you’ve come to love, and of course some new special editions (but shhh we don’t want to spoil any surprises yet!)

Some of you have asked about a repeat of last year’s anniversary party. Unfortunately, due to the renovations, we won’t be able to organize something near our actual anniversary date of September 18th. However, we don’t want to disappoint and there’s an event in the works for later on this fall!

Sour Release

Though we won’t have a party this September we do want to celebrate! What better way to do that than with the release of a new beer?! Many of you have been asking for it, and some of you know that it’s been in the works. Having sat in oak barrels for over a year, and having finally been bottled at the end of August, our anniversary will mark the release of our Flanders Red! This is a traditional oak-aged Belgian sour beer with a tart crispness that will leave you wanting more. Similar to a dry red wine in character, this beer offers a complex flavour profile driven mainly by the mysterious workings of wild yeasts and bacteria. In seeking to honour the tradition of Belgian wild fermentations, we have produced a very special beer whose unique characteristics will convert you to the funkier, more peculiar side of beer.

Aging beer in barrels produces a wonderfully unique finished product, but it also means that quantities are extremely limited. As our first barrel release, there will only be about 500 bottles of the Flanders Red (750mL) available. To accompany the bottle release, we have also prepared one 20-liter cask. We’ll announce when the cask will be tapped, and it will be served until its gone, so be quick if you want to try it before you buy

Events

During this month, we will be present at a number of events as well. We will once again be attending the Brantford Beer Fest, the Port Dover Beerstock, as well as a first-time appearance at the Fanshawe Local Craft Beer Festival.

The Brantford Beer Fest will be Saturday, September 9th from 3:00 – 11:00 pm at 12 Catharine Ave, Brantford. With 9 breweries listed, along with various vendors and entertainment, this promises to be a great event. For more information, visit their website at brantfordbeerfest.ca.

The Fanshawe Local Craft Beer Show is bringing together craft breweries within 100km of London. This 19+ event on Tuesday, September 26th is to showcase the variety of craft beer the area has to offer. Check out their event on Facebook for more information as it comes out.

Port Dover Beerstock will be taking place on Saturday, September 30th from 11:00 – 6:00 pm at Powell Park, 250 Main St., Port Dover. Join us to celebrate the local craft beer scene with a day of local beer, wine, cider, great food! More information at norfolktourism.ca.

The focus at New Limburg is on delivering the best quality. Working with a small brew system producing limited volumes of beer there is little room for error. Unfortunately, our last two batches of Belgian Blond were deemed not up to our standards for sale by the brew team. Recent high temperatures have caused the sensitive yeast cultures to produce variations in flavour that we do not look to include in this beer. This means that we will be out of Belgian Blond for the coming weeks. We ask for your understanding in not compromising on the quality of this award-winning beer. Our brew team is working hard to get the much-appreciated Belgian Blond back on the shelves.

This has prompted us to move up the timeline of the update to our facilities. Once complete, we will be able to produce more to increase our availability. Renovations of the old gym of the school have been underway for a while but our front entrance and patio have been in dire need of a face lift as well. This means that we will need to temporarily close our Tap Room for this process. The tentative dates have been set for August 28 to 31 to allow for preparations. We will re-open for the Labour Day long weekend, after which we will close the Tap Room once more for the pouring of new concrete. During this time, our Bottle Shop will remain operational through the alternative front entrance of the building.

With the unavailability of the Belgian Blond and amazing support from our customers, the other beers have been moving faster than ever. For this reason, we will introduce something new. Starting this weekend, we will make our full Saints Series of beers available for purchase in the Tap Room. This means you can now get a bottle of our Single, Tripel, and Quad to share in two chalices.

Lastly, many of you have been asking about an event for our anniversary in September. Due to the renovations, we will have to postpone any festivities until later in the season. We are amazed by the amount of interest we have had for this event and do not want to disappoint. So, stay tuned for more news about our next event!

What better way to enjoy the summer than with a new beer and a patio party? That’s what we did and everyone had a great time! On Sunday, July 23, we released our Belgian Single, completing our Trappist-inspired lineup alongside the Dubbel, Tripel, and Quadrupel.

Although we were worried about how the weather would influence the event, spirits were high, and the rain held off. With music from Benjamin Dakota Rogers on the patio and Sean Le Sage inside on the piano, the mood was great.

Our “Four Saints” flight was also a hit among those who came in to try it. We decided to get creative and offered a special sampler flight with the new Single joining its Trappist-inspired counterparts and accompanied by a cheese pairing from Jensen Cheese. For those who just wanted a taste of the new beer, we offered tasters on the patio.

The Single is inspired by one of our favourite Trappist breweries and has been conditioning in bottles since March. Though many craft breweries produce beer meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible, we prefer to bottle-condition all of our beers. This is especially important for the Single, as its complex aromas and flavours develop best over an extended aging period.

Since we do not filter our beers, yeast is left in the bottles. With the addition of sugar at packaging time, the yeast has new material to work with and continue to produce carbon dioxide, “conditioning” the beer. For the Single, a secondary yeast is added at bottling time to produce signature flavours. Though most of our beers benefit from some aging time, it is usually more beneficial for stronger beers (above 6 percent alcohol). However, the Single at 5.5 percent alcohol, is an exception to this rule because of the slow-acting nature of the secondary yeast. Ageing can bring some variation in characteristics that we look forward to experiencing. The same aging process can be recommended for the Dubbel, Tripel, and Quadrupel, which age nicely over the span of a year or two. If you want to try your hand at aging the beer, it is recommended to keep the beer in a cool dark place, like a basement or cellar. The ideal temperature would be between 13-18˚C, though the main consideration is to avoid any drastic day to day changes in temperature.

The release of the Single is also unique compared to our other releases since five subtly different batches were released at the same time. While designing this beer, our brewers took inspiration from the broader range of Trappist products and decided to craft a Brettanomyces-conditioned pale ale. Brettanomyces, or “Brett” as it is generally referred to, is a unique species of yeast that acts quite differently from traditional brewer’s yeasts. It is known for creating fruity, spicy and funky farmhouse flavours and aromas variously described as “new leather, cherry pie, barnyard, and smoke”. Our versions typically focus on the fruitier characteristics, which complement the hops wonderfully and create a truly exciting drinking experience. Some strains of Brett are known to produce a slight pellicle (a film on the surface of the beer) to protect the fermenting beer from oxygen contamination, which can look odd, but is completely normal and poses no threat to the drinker.

When our brewers began experimenting with this beer, they started with the Petit Blond recipe. They kept the malt composition, hopping, dry-hopping, and fermentation schedule consistent with the existing beer, the main difference being the addition of Brett at bottling time. In batches 1-4, they used either a different Brett strain or duplicate strain coming from a different yeast lab. In batch 5, they changed things up quite a bit to better align our Single with the traditional Belgian styles. To accomplish this, they still kept the malt composition consistent, but increased boiling time, added bittering hops, and used only noble hops. Finally, this batch includes two different Brett strains that will develop at varying rates and complement each other.

Because of these slight differences in the batches, and having been bottled at different times, there can be a slight variation in carbonation and flavour development. The bottles are marked with the different batch codes, so keep your eye out for those. And of course, we want to hear your feedback! Have you compared different batches of the Single? Have you tried to age any of our beers? What has been your experience? Let us know!

Canadians really do know how to have a good time! With Canada Day weekend behind us, we can look back with satisfaction. It was great to see a lot of people come out in the festive red and whites and enjoying the (mostly) good weather.

For the occasion (Canada did turn 150 after all!) our brewers wanted to come up with something special. We released a limited time spin off on our traditional Belgian wheat beer: the Hibiscus Wit. And was it ever a hit!The beer keeps the original flavours of our standard Wit beer made with Canadian wheat, orange peel, and coriander, but adds slight floral and earthy tones to it. The flowers even added a bit of a celebratory red tint to the beer. Talk about a red and wit beer!

Traditionally Hibiscus is a plant that originates from tropical locations. However, it has made its way to almost everything; from decorating homes, to decorating salads, and more. Some people might know hibiscus for being used for tea, but it has also become a popular addition to beer. They can be used dried or as we did fresh. The flavour the flower provides is quite subdued, so we chose to mix it with a beer that would let it shine through. The flowers were sourced from a local hibiscus grower in Norfolk County. This is a great plant to keep outside during the summer months and will reward it’s caretaker with flowers daily when properly taken care of.

The Hibiscus Wit flew off the shelves so fast we could barely keep them stocked. That being said there are st ill some bottles left and are still available on tap in the bar as well. So if you haven’t already tried it you still have the chance.

We are so ready for the winter weather! We’ve got beer soap, made right here in Norfolk by Kim at the Kalm Studio. So you can take a hot bath and get lathered up by a Petit Blond while sipping on the same (we’ve also got Dubbel for those of you who prefer a ménage à trois)! We’ve got pea soup in the weekends, to warm you up after the cold hike from the parking lot. We have branded hoodies to keep you warm and cozy. And since you’ve left the house already you might as well get your Christmas shopping out of the way and pick up a gift basket before heading back.

As hot as the summer was, we knew eventually it would make way for a chilly winter, so we have been waiting patiently since August for our newest release; the Quadrupel to reach maturity. Okay well we may have gotten into a few bottles along the way… but all in the name of quality assurance, we can stop anytime we want!

The quad is the last in line of the vaguely mathematical trappist styles, Dubbel, Tripel, Quad. You may have noticed a pattern here and yes this one is not for beginners but the 10.5% ABV will certainly warm you up inside.

We have brewed this Quad in recognition of the Belgian Saint Arnoldus. We greatly admire and appreciate the work he did in stopping the spread of the plague by brewing and promoting the consumption of, low alcohol, small beer. He ensured people stayed hydrated without drinking water contaminated with the plague. This holiday season we are celebrating our good health and clean water with our St. Arnoldus Quad.

This beer is too special to drink out of just any glass. That is why we are releasing a gold rimmed chalice we recommend serving it in. Just be sure to hand-wash it since real gold is not dishwasher safe. This new beer will only be available in bottles, therefore we won’t be able to offer any samples for tasting, so to give you an idea of what to expect the brewers have written down their impressions (I know their job is so tough).

The aroma coming off the St. Arnoldus Quad is quite powerful and certainly something to take the time for. It is very fruity on the nose with a bread-like malt background and there is a noticeable alcohol presence. Most perceptible are berry, dark cherry, and raisin aromas.

The flavour matches the smell closely. The beer has a strong fruit flavour and sweetness up front with a well-balanced lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. Fruit is again reminiscent of cherry, raisin, and berry. A bready and caramel maltiness background with a hint of nuttiness and chocolate to be discovered.

The St. Arnoldus is full bodied and highly carbonated, but still finishes quite dry. A lot of alcohol warmth can be felt, especially as the beer reaches serving temperature.

Best served warm at 10-14ºC. Suitable for aging; in the cellar this beer will improve with a few years on it.

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Sat, 01 Oct 2016 18:46:06 +0000http://newlimburg.com/?p=1255Wow (“te gek!” as Jo put it)! Almost a week has passed but we are still in shock from Sunday, what a great turn out! None of us knew what to expect from our first ever hosted event, what if no one shows up? What if too many people show up? What if the beer is all foamy? What if the weather is bad? Despite our many worries and insecurities, our first event has set the bar high for those still to come.

The weather was sunny with a pleasant breeze. The beers were behaving… for the most part. And the give or take 500 people were wonderful! Everyone seemed just as excited and proud with our success as we are, many approaching us with words of praise and encouragement, there wasn’t a frown in sight.

We would like to give a big thank you to the musicians for setting the mood, including the guests who simply couldn’t stay away from the stage or the piano. We would also like to thank Shaka Bean and Magnolia Hospitality Company. We know it was a bit of a puzzle to be here.

Last but not least we would like to thank our amazing volunteer crew for all their hard work, we could not have done it without them! We know it was a long day for you guys and we are working on a better thank you .

]]>1st Anniversary October Fest!http://newlimburg.com/1st-anniversary-october-fest/
http://newlimburg.com/1st-anniversary-october-fest/#commentsWed, 14 Sep 2016 23:32:10 +0000http://newlimburg.com/?p=1250In an effort to thank our many customers for making our first year such a great one, we would like to celebrate the occasion with you at our very own New Limburg October Fest! Come enjoy some great beer, delicious food and excelent live music.

To make this event extra special we will be releasing a brand new beer developed and brewed by our newest brewer Andrew. It’s a Dark Rye Saison and supplies are limited, so be sure to stop by for a chance to try it out while you still can.

Finally the growlers are here! So forget the 4 pack this long weekend, instead grab a single two litre bottle filled with delicious, cold beer. Though you might as well grab a mixed case while you are here.

That’s not the only thing that’s new at New Limburg, we now have an option for those of you who are like me and just can’t decide which New Limburg flavour to order. You can now get a flight with four different varieties, equal in volume to two of our regular glasses. Or if you have never tried any of our beers before and are not quite ready to commit to a full glass.

Something yet to look forward to is the patio. We plan to have it ready to sit before the summer, for you to enjoy the calm country outdoors.